While at the conference for 10 days, Garcia participated in leadership skill-building activities and simulations, including acting as president and cabinet members responding to an international crisis.

Applications also will be distributed on the first day of school, which is Aug. 14. Applications are available in English and Spanish.

Galveston ISD scales back pre-kindergarten program

The Galveston Independent School District is scaling back its pre-kindergarten program to a half day and will serve only children who are eligible for free/reduced lunches, have a limited English proficiency or are homeless.

Parents who registered their children will be notified if they qualify under the new guidelines. For information on the free/reduced lunch program, call 409-766-5162.

A University of Houston optometry professor, Strickland also serves as assistant vice chancellor for international studies and programs.

Strickland has been at UH since 1979. In 1993, Strickland proposed a model for what became the Partnership Foundation for Optometric Education, in which $1 is added to registration fees charged by schools and universities for each credit hour of continuing professional education provided to practitioners of optometry. The fund supports optometric education.